The Partnership's Plan - Lake District National Park

World class visitor experience – Issues and actions
The world class visitor experience features:
• Sustainable tourism and visitor facilities and
• Education, access and outdoor recreation
3.5 Sustainable tourism and visitor facilities
3.5.1 Facts and challenges
• Tourism’s role in the environment and National Park economy is massive. In 2008, 15.3
million tourist trips were made to Cumbria comprising 5 million overnight visitors and
10.3 million day visitors. This generated 28.5 million tourist days.
• More than eight million visitors come to the National Park each year (source STEAM
2008), spending over 15 million visitor days here. The visitor economy results in direct
spending on accommodation, catering and visitor facilities. In 2008, tourism included
indirect expenditure of £167 million on local business supporting and serving tourism
business. In 2008, the total value of expenditure was £677 million.
• Operating on marginal profitability, many small and medium sized tourism businesses
have not matched investment in updated accommodation and facilities with customer
expectations. Whilst much of the Lake District has vibrant and interesting settlements
and shopping areas, some locations such as Bowness on Windermere and Ambleside
need re-invigorating. Many businesses have been reluctant to join the national quality
grading scheme because of the initial expense and obligations to continue investing.
• Affordable flights from across the UK allow the customer greater destination choice.
The web provides readily accessible information, easier ‘bookability’ and a wide range
of accommodation. And many UK destinations, particularly cities, have significantly
improved and invested heavily in contemporary marketing campaigns, festivals and
events. Despite 20 per cent growth in UK inbound passengers over the last five years
Cumbria has seen no significant increase in overseas visitors.
• Sustainable tourism is built into the current and future policy framework in the Lake
District in a number of ways:
o The Good Practice Guide on Planning for Tourism supports the principles of
sustainable development for tourism
o The Department of Culture Media and Sport has published a document:
‘Sustainable Tourism in England: A framework for action’
o The emerging Lake District Core Strategy (2010)
o Many private sector businesses now recognise the value sustainable and green
measures can have for their business and a number of case studies exist. A
number are illustrated within the ‘Low-carbon Lake District’ report (2008).
• Sustainable tourism is not a new theme for the Lake District and it features prominently
in both policy and in existing action plans:
o Adopting sustainable tourism as a brand is key to influencing a vast audience
about sustainability generally. The English National Park Authorities Association
has adopted a position statement on sustainable tourism that includes the
following definition:
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